Thanks Arcos. It sounds like a great opportunity...Congratulations!
As mentioned in PM, if you plan to continue with us once you are available we can put Arcos on the back burner (similar to Aldren) and have him do research or other activities until you return.
Unless I meet an early and potentially bear-related demise, I'll be back to the game. I'm fine with him doing some sort of research in the interim, maybe trying to spread the Blue Warlock's reputation.
We went fishing yesterday and had to pick up my daughter from camp this morning. No bears but will likely get post up this evening.
We are going north right?This time, we'll be going out the south gate.
Correct. And you are currently not far from it.
I had a trip with my family after work and into late evening, so post is short
My gut feeling is that it may be too early to directly confront the regime by attacking the excruciation proceedings. If we were successful, our notoriety, and the city danger level, would presumably skyrocket.
Nevertheless, Lubella will find it hard to bide her time and not intervene.
And that is a big "if", by the description of the guarding forces. Perhaps there is something we can do though - rob Thrune of the spectacle and kill the captured Hellknight swiftly, rather than let them be tormented. A fast-acting poison, perhaps?
We don't necessarily need to defeat the guards if we can wreck the platform from range - and get away. A distraction, and long-range attacks could lead to success - at least enough to delay things.
A magma elemental could earth glide to the platform and then burn it, for example -- though I don't speak Ignan to explain the plan to it, and I can only summon one of them -- but that sort of idea could work. (Planting powder or alchemist's fire invisibly would be another possibility).
We could ruin the 'doghousing' spectacle by killing the dogs. I want to avoid killing the prisoner (don't want to burn the platform with the knight still inside the 'doghouse'). The ideal would be to rescue the prisoner and get away, although that seems like it could be very difficult to pull off.
Lubella can cast Grease, and shoot with her crossbow. She also knows Liberating Command, if whatever restraints on the prisoner could be loosened.
Talvek has a Tanglefoot bag; we also have a Smokestick.
EDIT: I presume that they will bring the prisoner at least partially out of the doghouse, so the crowd can see him, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a spectacle.
Also, I assumed that Talvek, by his stated action, went off on his own to the Devil's Nursery to visit his family. If you waited until he returned (or if plans changed), please let me know since it will impact the actions possible and timing of events.
Right now I have Lubella, Fhingle, Sidius and Arcos on the edge of the South of Veritas Plaza (map). I have Talvek on his way to the Nursery.
Figure it is about 2pm at this point...the next Excruciation will be at sunset (~6pm) and you were planning on meeting Setrona at dusk (~7pm) at the south gate.
I wasn't planning on attempting anything before Talvek returns from visiting his family. I had assumed that it was a bit later, since Lubella's Gather Information check could have taken as much as 4 hours (1d4 hours).
I was thinking of perhaps trying something at the time of the excruciation.
Ok, then I will send a PM to Talvek with his info and assume he returns. Now it is closer to 5pm, so you have a bit of time to prepare as the platform construction continues.
I head out tomorrow, and may not have another opportunity to post today. If there’s any pressing business, I can probably squeeze out some time to post about it.
If the restraints on the prisoner aren't that tight, a combination of Grease and Liberating Command might be able to free him. If we tried that, someone could summon a monster at the same time to cause confusion on the platform.
The escape attempt would be easier to coordinate if Lubella could cast a Message spell on the prisoner first, but I don't know that it's possible to do that without the guards noticing.
Can Fhingle establish his Life Link at range, or is it touch? I'm presuming that the prisoner might be already wounded.
The range of message should make that possible - I'd think we could cast from an alley or similar -- although the issue may be line of sight.
That said, I could always use my lone potion of invisibility to get myself close enough to do that - it would cover the act of summoning an elemental as well - but then we're on a 3-minute clock.
My suspicion is that the potion of invisibility may be necessary to avoid detection when casting the Message spell. You'd have to be careful where you stand, to avoid people becoming alarmed when they bump into an invisible something.
The 3 minute duration makes the timing tricky — you want it to last for the summoning. You'd have to judge, based on the actions of the guards, when the show is about to begin. Being able to communicate with the prisoner raises the odds of success; he could stop short of the food and try to escape right away.
My biggest concern is that we don't know how he's being restrained. It might require someone to jump up onto the platform, and cut a rope or even pick the lock of a manacle.
You'd want to start summoning when the food is thrown out and the dogs are released. Once the prisoner hopefully escapes from the platform, we will want Fhingle to put a life-link on him. Fhingle isn't that fast though, so he probably shouldn't be too close to the platform. Once we start retreating, Lubella will cast Grease to slow down our pursuers.
If we are successful, I imagine we'd have to take the prisoner with us out the south gate; it's hard to see how we'd have time to take him anywhere else.
Since you had a good 15mins to plan, allowing all the details and assuming the group is conversing in the alley outside the direct view of the plaza. Nobody is really paying any attention to you at this point.
Not sure how much Arcos will be participating, but here's some ideas. He could summon some celestial eagles, and use Silent Image and Ghost Sound to confuse the enemy. He could also use the Smoke Stick to slow down the pursuit (perhaps right next to a Grease patch).
By my understanding of the rules, jumping up 5ft onto the platform is a DC 20 acrobatics check (4 per foot). Lubella would have +12 for the extra movement from Expeditious Retreat. With her acrobatics skill (+6) and Heroism, it would be an auto-success for her. Talvek could use both panache and inspiration (deciding after he sees his d20 roll), for an additional +2d6. A dex mutagen would add +2 from increased dexterity. Not an auto-success, but with Heroism he would be rolling d20+2d6+12.
I believe Arcos is traveling for his new assignment so I was not sure how much he’d participate
Will give until tomorrow for him to post otherwise we can assume summon celestial eagle
Also for the hit on Talvek I missed some damage and the temp hp from aid. The damage was 10 which after 7 temp hp leaves Talvek down 3hp.
Presumably Arcos would have changed into his Blue Warlock vigilante identity while we were conferring in the alley.
Agreed. Assuming he did just that
Talvek is in a really bad spot here. I didn't anticipate the dogs having the free trip attack. He only had about a 12% chance of being tripped (I think his CMD is 18 with the mutagen). :(
If I understand correctly, Talvek has a Life Link from Fhingle, so he will heal 5 hp at the start of Fhingle's turn (it didn't apply last round since he didn't have at least 5 damage).
A couple of things to consider:
Unless the opponents have combat reflexes, they only get one AoO a round. So if Talvek decides to stand up, he might as well move to get off the platform (could be AoOs from 5 opponents though). Also, I don't think that the dogs' trip applies on an AoO from standing up: the attack happens before the triggering action resolves. Unfortunately, this also means that Talvek has -4 AC while standing up.
Summoned creatures can attack on the round that they appear.
@GM Aarvid: FWIW, halberds don't have reach (but the dottari could have easily moved next to Talvek to attack).
I don't see the armiger anywhere in the initiative list. If he doesn't get the heck out of there then this was all for nothing. What did he do last round? I'm happy to move out and trigger the AoOs so that the man we're rescuing doesn't, but I'd like to have some indication if he's on board with us rescuing him.
The elemental would attack immediately, but I was leaving that for the GM since I can't direct it.
Also, totally should have started closer before Talvek jumped up -- needing to move up basically cost a round's worth of actions.
If the dottari do have reach, orange and red wouldn't get an AoO when Talvek stands up (cover from the dogs).
Ah correct on the reach. They will have moved to attack adjacent. I will adjust the map once my flight lands late tonight. Sorry for delay while traveling. Posting from phone can be trick on combats.
Sidius feel free to place the elemental and rolls it’s attacks. If its initial target drops or flees etc then I will adjudicate the action. Was it a small?
Lubella I may have you roll for Arcos bird on its turn.
The armiger stood on his turn but was not sure which way to run once Talvek fell. He was torn between helping and fleeing. I will add his action in with the first group tonight.
It is small, yes.
I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas if I don’t get a chance to post tonight
As a gift from your ‘benevolent’ GM you each receive a silver coin for one free re-roll to be used on any one d/20 in the future.
Arcos, Lubella and Talvek still have their Christmas gift. Just thought I'd remind people. :)
Can Talvek move through the prisoner's space next to an enemy? If not, the prisoner delaying means there's no chance for either of them to get away. They both need to get off the platform and as far away from the dottari as possible. If Talvek doesn't get dropped by the AoOs, he will be most certainly be downed on the dottari's turn, but at least Fhingle might be able to make him conscious again by channeling.
Only by moving as far away as possible will Talvek have any chance of not ending up surrounded again next turn. Hopefully Arcos can place his summons in a position to get in the way of some of the enemies.
Yes he can move through the Armiger as an ally.
@GM Aarvid: I've had some GMs rule the other way, which is why I asked.
Is Sidius able to take a standard action this round? Because Talvek's chances of survival would increase dramatically if the green dottari were to suddenly fall asleep. :)
The ideal place for a summoned creature is in the Talvek's former space after he moves away! (not that Sidius could do both that and put the dottari to sleep before Talvek moves)
Although Sleep is usually a full round spell. (Missed the slumber hex)
Plus the elemental still gets its attack. That is why I am waiting.
Keep in mind if you move and then start a full round action (summons) in one round then the next round you finish the summons with your standard action but then still have a move.
If you use your full round action without moving in the first round, then your summons arrives at the beginning of the next round and you get your full rounds actions thereafter.
I believe Sidius has the Slumber Hex.
I am good with you starting closer since you were invis and had surprise
Arco's eagle will appear, which is good. In case it is not obvious yet, the dogs were very lucky to hit Talvek, but the seasoned dottari guards seem to be very capable with their powerful weapons. (ie you are over-matched for a prolonged fight)
Yes, time to run!
Which token on the map is the (ex-)prisoner? Hopefully he's retreating as fast as he can!
I am on a business trip today and my weekend is fully booked, so please bot Talvek if I'm holding things up. He will try to get away with the prisoner, still has plenty of panache points and inspiration points he can use for parry and riposte. I give Lubella power of attorney over what Talvek does. :)
The prisoner is the one with the rope in his hands, retreating towards Arcos.
Safe travels Talvek. :)
I am boarding the train with my family for Chicago this evening on vacation until we return Tuesday. So I may have limited posting as well.
OK, I've moved Talvek on the map (withdraw action, staying out of reach of the Hellknight). He will use his knowledge of the city to lead the party south towards the Devil's Nursery. We may have to stick to the main boulevard for the first bit, since Barzillai's new residence is to the west, and the Temple of Asmodeus is to the east. I don't think it's a good idea to head to Songbird Hall, since that will create difficulties for the Shelynites.
Talvek is too low on hp to take multiple attacks, so he will move past anyone not moving a double move. Everyone else: I highly recommend not ending you turn within a single move, or charge reach, of the enemy! Fhingle should be running at 4x movement in a straight line, even at the cost of provoking an AoO at the start.
The dottari will have to jump down 5ft from the platform at the start of their movement. Not sure if that will reduce their movement on a successful acrobatics check.
I know that there's some dispute about the DC to jump a 20 ft gap (is it 20 or 25?), but in any case my roll was high enough that it didn't matter. If I'd rolled a one, Lubella might have dropped into the water, but she does have a ring of swimming as a back-up. :)
@Fhingle: I think you need to run at 4x speed here (60ft). We absolutely cannot fight the Hellknights as well as the dottari. We could potentially gang up on the two lead dottari for a round or two, if they get ahead of their friends.
How many Life Links do you have going? Drop them if you need to, before you run out of hp.
My apologies for giving ooc advice, but this encounter is super-dangerous, and I don't want anyone to lose their character.
4x speed like Lubella suggests. I will have to drop them, if 3 people took dmg I am at 4 HP presently.
If you have Life Links on everyone, you should be down 24 total, by my reckoning:
Round 1: Talvek takes 10 damage; after the 7 temp HP from Aid, he's down 3. On Fhingle's turn, he doesn't have the 5 damage which would trigger the Life Link. Later in the round, Talvek takes 13 damage, for a total of 16. Fingle takes 9 damage.
Round 2: Talvek takes 16 damage from a dottari, for a total of 32. On Fhingle's turn, Talvek's Life Link activates, healing him 5 hp to 27 damage, and dealing 5 damage to Fhingle (total of 14). After Fhingle's turn, Lubella takes 13 damage.
Round 3: On Fhingle's turn, Lubella and Talvek's Life Links both activate, dealing 10 damage to Fhingle, for a total of 24. Talvek heals 5 to 22 damage, and Lubella heals 5 to 8 damage.
I don't think you've had a chance to put a Life Link on the ex-prisoner.
Dropping one or more Life Links is an immediate action, so I suppose you could wait until the dottari's turn if you wanted to. You should certainly drop Lubella's Life Link, since she has 31 Hp right now, and Talvek's as well if the AoO hits.
I only ever take 5 dmg from the life link, you only ever heal 5, really it is not crazy powerful but it could be the difference between life and death.
Fhingle couldn't put a life link on the prisoner
I think I took extra dmg because I didn't take into account false life. so I should be at 9 if everyone healed 15 and I took 15 in round 2 & 3
I will be on the train heading home from Chicago tomorrow so wrapping up packing tonight. I will post the hellknight actions tomorrow once I am home.
@Fhingle: It looks like you only moved back 45 ft; you can run at 4x speed, ie 60ft. You could get back to 2 squares to the left of Acros, which would be a much safer spot (green dottari wouldn't be able to charge you).
Don't you have to run in a straight line?
Yes, that is what I was thinking as well (about run and withdraw, but seems it only applies to run)
The streets Are arranged in blocks so there will be plenty of straight stretches to run. The dottari appear to be lightly armored and quicker than the platemail wearing knights.
Charge also has to be in a straight line, so that's something to keep in mind as well.
Most likely, the dottari have a speed of 30 ft, and can thus charge 60 ft. As long as Fhingle runs flat out, and keeps to the left side, the green dottari wouldn't reach him with a charge.
The goal then becomes to slow the red dottari down by 5 ft, so he can't charge Fhingle. A Grease spell is one option; another is for someone else to position themselves either in the way, or such that the dottari would have to eat an AoO to go after Fhingle. That's something that Talvek could do, as long as only one dottari could reach him (he doesn't have the hp to take 2 hits). He could be dropped by a critical hit, but that's a risk we likely have to take. The dottari go before Lubella, so she can't interfere with their next round's movement.
Once Fhingle gets a 5 ft separation from his pursuers, they won't really be able to catch him; if they run past him, they'll get swarmed by the rest of the party, and their allies would be too far behind to help.